Put my shoes in water for the perfect fit??

Someone told me they usually immerse their climbing shoes in water then wear them about the house until they dry. They felt this sped up the stretching process and gave them the "perfect fit".

Has anyone tried this? My Scarpas are waaayy too snug.

It's called a hot water stretch and yes be careful to not weaken the adhesive bond from the rand to the sole...If you want your shoes to be super tight this is a good way to not go through the break in process...

John Marren wrote:Someone told me they usually immerse their climbing shoes in water then wear them about the house until they dry. They felt this sped up the stretching process and gave them the "perfect fit". Has anyone tried this? My Scarpas are waaayy too snug.

I got the opportunity to demo a pair of Scarpa Technos (unlined leather shoes) after they'd been caught in the rain the day before. I'd tried these shoes before, new and dry, and was worried a size 39 would be too tight, but couldn't find a size 39.5 anywhere to try on. The size 39 demo shoes were still a bit damp when I put them on - they fit much better. Pretty well, in fact. If your shoes are too tight, this may be all you need. If they're waaay too tight, it might not be enough. Worth a try.

Kathy

I've done this method three or so times. Don't need hot water, as warm water will do just fine. The important thing is to wear the shoes for at least two to four hours while they are wet. They then fit perfectly, or at least they did for me.

Holy gods of sport climbing! No way could I wear my tightest shoes for 2-4 hours straight. I'd end up with nerve damage or something.

Hi John,

This is a two part question, but I suspect you know the answer to the first part, which would read something like:

"will stretching the areas in my shoe not covered with rubber help the fit of my shoes?".

I'm thinking here of a tight fit in the length dimension.

Let's take the example of a Sportiva Mythos which has rubber running around the perimeter of the entire shoe. You'd think that you couldn't help out a tight fit (for length) with this shoe by stretching.

While strictly speaking you can't, small length differences in length can be "fixed" with a stretch. If the area near the last toe knuckle eases up a bit, you'll gain quite a bit of comfort in the length dimension.

In general, the shoe needs to be unlined (doh !). I concur about using water which is no hotter than warm, and wearing the shoes until nearly dry. Sure, you can take breaks during this period, and be prepared to have colofrul feet ;-)

Cheers,
Thom

I have an old pair of stingers that get wet down before I wear them, if I dont I cant stand in them. when I do wet them they are bearable . I run water inside the shoe and them climb in them all day.

I'll be doing that today since my nice shoes are on their way to Komitos for a little re-hab.

This is awesome information that I'm going to try myself soon. Thanks!!

I did it and it worked awesome. Put them on then soaked in warm water a couple of minutes. Walked / stood around for 4 hours. They fit great, though I had to take a day or 2 off climbing from the toe trauma! :)